The Avengers Will Face the Skrulls in 2012

Several insider reports have revealed who may be the actual villains in The Avengers movie(s); and why Marvel Studios doesn't need to chase down character rights.

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By multipurposeponi - 5/20/2010

[EDITOR'S NOTE: First off, I want to apologize for not being around much this week. I wish I could say I've been tracking down story leads, but my regular, non-CBM job required some much needed attention. I promise to respond to all of you who've been emailing me by the end of the day. I may not have time to keep watch on the comments section, but I'm check in every now and again.]

It's been assumed for several years now that Marvel Studios ensemble film The Avengers will follow the continuity of the original comics run; where Loki gains control over the Hulk to unleash his fury on Earth, which causes the superhero team to assemble for the first time. Last night I learned that this may not be the case, and apparently I'm not the only one who's privy to this information. Two fellow entertainment journalists, one being our own DCMarvel_Freshman, were tipped to this information around the same time as I was; and by two other sources close to the production.

The highlight of this insider scoop (DISCLAIMER: which has not been confirmed by the studio itself) is that the shape-changing alien race the Skrulls are being used as the main antagonists for The Avengers. Not only that, but the Skrulls will 'brainwash' and use the Hulk in a similar fashion Loki did in the comics. Don't expect a full on alien invasion, though; that will have to wait for a sequel. The Skrulls' role will be largely clandestine, similar to the way S.H.I.E.L.D. operates.

For those of you wondering who the Skrulls are, here's a brief synopsis courtesy of Marvel: 'The Skrulls are an extraterrestrial humanoid race who have created a vast interstellar empire, the oldest known empire still in existence, within the Andromeda Galaxy.. A Skrull can mentally cause the unstable molecules that comprise his or her body to become pliant, enabling him or her to assume other forms through muscular expansion and contraction. Once a new shape has been assumed (human, animal, alien), it takes a conscious act of will to assume another form or revert to natural.. Although the Skrulls became aware of Earth (due to its nearness to a natural warp-space access point) eons ago, it was not until recent times that they considered Earth’s threat. Their first regular surveillances of Earth began in the 1930s. To date most of the Skrulls’ excursions to Earth have been extremely small-scale, with no more than a handful of soldier-infiltrators being dispatched at any given time. It is not yet known how the death of the current ruling family will affect official policy toward Earth or the government of the empire in general. '

Apparently, the Skrulls won't be the only alien race to be introduced in The Avengers; their enemy, the Kree, will also have a presence as Earthly allies. This isn't surprising information, considering a young actor by the name of Kevin Pennington has been rumored to portray a character by the name of Noh-Varr; who just so happens to be a Kree. Though I couldn't get confirmation that Noh-Varr is Pennington's role, at his point, all signs are pointing to 'yes.'

That's not all, True Believers, the last bit of information I managed to talk to this source about was regarding comic character film rights, and how Marvel Studios is planning on bringing fan-favorites like Spider-Man, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four back under their umbrella. It seems like the opposite it true. Marvel has no intention of working out deals with neither Fox nor Sony in an effort to use the characters (including the ones mentioned above) in future Marvel Studios projects. Instead, they will simply, "pretend they don't exist in the Marvel Cinema Universe until those companies inevitably grow tired of them."

How on Earth will those studios grow tired of characters that offer them tent pole film franchise opportunities? It may not take as long as expected; after all, there are only so many times you can 'reboot' a character before the general movie going public looses interest. Though it may take another decade or so, that seems to be an acceptable wait for Marvel to bring their heroes home.

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I would have thought the Skrulls were a part of the F4 property, but Kevin Feige said Marvel owned them at last year's Comicon.Anyway, I think the Skrulls may not be the right villains for the first movie.I could see them doing a Secret Invasion type story, but it would be better down the line.I mean, where do you go after an alien invasion?What are they gonna do for a sequel?

SGA@ Marvel has so many great characters to choose from, there is just no need to put Wolverine or Spider-Man in every movie. Blade was a perfect example of introducing a lesser known character to the audiences. Guys like Namor, Black Panther or Dr. Strange should at least appear in some of the future marvel films

As much as I want to see some version of the Kree/Skrull war on the big screen, I hope that this news isnt true. I'd be far happier if they follow the classic Loki/Hulk storyline in The Avengers and only set up the Skrulls for the sequel climaxing with the war in a third film.

"pretend they don't exist in the Marvel Cinema Universe until those companies inevitably grow tired of them." - well, that sucks. :( It's not that I'm desperate to see Spider-Man join the Avengers or anything, but the thought of seeing him team up with Daredevil or the FF is awesome. Cant see that ever happenning now..!

Ok, maybe I have missed other posts by MPP but I have noticed one striking similarity, everyone one of them has to do with Kevin Pennington. Unless he happens to be the actor himself I would bet that he has something to do with publicity for said actor, look the guy up on IMDB he has two acting credits. Secondly this sounds to good to be true, my bet is that we will see either Ultron, Ten Rings (Mandarin), or a combination of main character villains... Best way to prove this would be to find out if any villains have multiple picture deals in the works.

I wonder if this means we'll see Skrulls in The First Avenger: Captain America? It's possible as it's that sort of storyline that The Ultimates followed! Plus, Whedon's sci-fi background and comic book work points to him liking that sort of thing so it's likely he wanted that included if he rewrote both scripts and is directing The Avengers!

like Josh said, the skrulls were the first villains in the Ultimates. they went by the name Chitauri, but they were the Ultimate Skrulls. they even said they were known as Skrulls in certain parts of the universe.

anyway, i think this is a pretty cool thing to do. better than the Cosmic Cube, like many people thought the Avengers would be about. I have no doubt the Cosmic Cube will be in Captain America, though.

I agree that characters like spiderman, wolverine, and ff should just be overlooked for these movies and be in a separate universe...

BUT please, hell no to the skrulls!! i hate those little green martians and they would make the Avengers so dumb! Stick to whats good!! Loki! Hulk! maybe hint at some third villain working behind the scenes but nothing beyond that! if theyre gonna jump into the ET category, u gotta milk the audience into the idea by doing it gradually!

alien-related stories (if any) should wait until Iron Man 3, with the Mandarin and his rings

Is anyone really surprised about this? When Marvel commissioned the Ultimates their vision for it was "What if the Marvel Universe was made into a movie?" In it, Nick Fury says if anyone were to play him in the movie it wold be Samuel L Jackson. As far as "[frick] Yeah" moments, Ultimates 2 was packed with them. If they make it to a part 2 (and who am I kidding they will), Joss Whedon will make it the GREATEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE EVER MADE.